India's High Court Pulls Plug on Wiretapping

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India's High Court Pulls Plug on Wiretapping

The Indian Supreme Court ruled this week that wiretapping is a "serious invasion of an individual's privacy" and called for the government to update the century-old Indian Telegraph Act's clause on interception.

The high court ruled that an order for wiretapping can only be issued by the Federal Home Secretary - the most senior official in India's equivalent to the US Department of Justice. In "urgent" cases, this power can be delegated to slightly lower-level officials.

Wiretaps can be used only if no "other reasonable means" are available, the court said. Wiretapping in India is used by the Intelligence Bureau, which claims to be the longest-existing intelligence service in the world. Most often, interception is illegally targeted on opponents of the ruling party.

The Supreme Court was ruling on a public-interest suit brought by the People's Union for Civil Liberties. The court did not rule on what exactly is in the public interest and what justifies interception.